u/beef-cakes

How to Land an Interview

this happened to me today and I figured it was worth sharing because it was probably the fastest I've ever gone from a job application to an interview.

I found a role that was almost a perfect match for my background. Most of the job description lined up with what I'd been doing in my last two jobs.

Normally I would have applied and moved on, but this time I tried something different.

I submitted the application first, then found the hiring manager on LinkedIn and sent her a short message.

Nothing fancy:

"hey, just applied for the X role. the posting honestly reads a lot like my current job description, so I wanted to put a face to the application. looking forward to hearing back either way"

She never replied to the LinkedIn message.

But she saw it.

About 15 minutes later, I had an interview invite in my inbox.

I think the reason this kind of job application follow up can work is because you're not really asking the hiring manager for anything.

No "can we hop on a call?"

No long introduction.

No paragraph explaining why you've always dreamed of working there.

You're basically just saying, "I applied, I'm a strong match, and here's my name."

Hiring managers and recruiters get a ridiculous number of messages from job seekers, so keeping it short and low pressure probably helps.

Obviously, messaging the hiring manager after applying isn't some magic trick. If you're not qualified for the job, a LinkedIn message probably isn't going to change that.

But if your resume is a strong match for the job description, it can help get your application looked at instead of sitting somewhere in a pile of hundreds of resumes.

So if you're wondering what to do after applying for a job you actually care about, finding the recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn and sending one short message might be worth trying.

Just apply first, keep the message simple, and don't ask for a favor.

curious if anyone else has job search tips like this that actually got them an interview. especially the weird little things nobody talks about.

saw a posting that was basically written for me, every bullet matched my last two jobs. so instead of applying and praying like usual, I tried something different

applied first, then found the hiring manager on linkedin and sent a short message. nothing fancy, just "hey, just applied for the X role. the posting honestly reads like my current job description so I wanted to put a face to the application. looking forward to hearing back either way"

she never replied. but she SAW it. 30 min later there's an interview invite in my inbox

I think the trick is the message wasn't asking for anything. no "can we hop on a call," just a heads up that my application exists. recruiters get a million desperate messages a day so a low pressure one stands out

obviously only works if you're actually a fit. the message just gets your resume looked at instead of sitting in a pile of 400

curious if anyone else has tricks like this that actually worked, the weirder the better

Pretty sure most of us have two versions of our resume sitting in a folder somewhere.

There's the boring one. Single column, Calibri or whatever, plain headers, no graphics. The ATS friendly resume format every thread tells you to use.

Then there's the pretty one. Two column layout, a sidebar, some accent color, little icons, maybe a progress bar claiming you're 87% proficient in Excel.

I want to hear from people who've actually sent out both.

Did you notice a real difference in callbacks? Not "which one looks better," there are already a thousand threads for that. I mean actual results from an actual job hunt.

What field are you in, roughly how many apps did you send with each version, and which resume format got you more interviews?

And yeah, if your sample size is nine applications and a prayer, I'll still take it.

I'm a software engineer with around 4 years of experience, mostly in full stack and backend development.

https://preview.redd.it/2ndlw52wh0jh1.png?width=1068&format=png&auto=webp&s=d3eebd57fe02fef63000abc844b8557692b05cfc

I'm currently targeting remote software engineer and full stack roles and would love some outside feedback. Does anything stand out as weak, unnecessary, or unclear? I'm especially interested in feedback on my experience bullets, skills section, and overall layout.

Thanks in advance.